Midal Cables Pty Ltd Tomago Aluminium Rod and Conductor Manufacturing Facility Flora and Fauna Impact Assessment December 2011 Revision 0 This Tomago Aluminium Rod and Conductor Manufacturing Facility – Flora and Fauna Impact Assessment (“Report”): 1. has been prepared by [insert GHD entity which provides the Report – for example that entity may be GHD Pty Ltd or GHD Australia Pty Ltd] (“GHD”) for Midal Cables Pty Ltd; 2. may only be used and relied on by Midal Cables Pty Ltd; 3. must not be copied to, used by, or relied on by any person other than [insert name of client] without the prior written consent of GHD; 4. may only be used for the purpose of assessing the Project under Part 3A of the EP&A Act (and must not be used for any other purpose). GHD and its servants, employees and officers otherwise expressly disclaim responsibility to any person other than Midal Cables Pty Ltd arising from or in connection with this Report. To the maximum extent permitted by law, all implied warranties and conditions in relation to the services provided by GHD and the Report are excluded unless they are expressly stated to apply in this Report. The services undertaken by GHD in connection with preparing this Report: x were limited to those specifically detailed in section 1.3 of this Report; x did not include [GHD undertaking detailed investigations outside the study area; GHD undertaking detailed surveys in more than one season]. The opinions, conclusions and any recommendations in this Report are based on assumptions made by GHD when undertaking services and preparing the Report (“Assumptions”), including (but not limited to): x Information supplied or made available by third parties is correct and accurate (eg databases and reports relevant to the locality). x The reliability of the methods required to be undertaken as part of the assessment in detected threatened biota. GHD expressly disclaims responsibility for any error in, or omission from, this Report arising from or in connection with any of the Assumptions being incorrect. Subject to the paragraphs in this section of the Report, the opinions, conclusions and any recommendations in this Report are based on conditions encountered and information reviewed at the time of preparation and may be relied on until for 6 months, after which time, GHD expressly disclaims responsibility for any error in, or omission from, this Report arising from or in connection with those opinions, conclusions and any recommendations. 22/15280/30/94697 R0 Tomago Aluminium Rod and Conductor Manufacturing Facility Flora and Fauna Impact Assessment Contents Abbreviations i Executive Summary ii 1. Introduction 1 1.1 The Project 1 1.2 The Site and Study Area 2 1.3 Objectives and Purpose of this Assessment 2 2. Legislative Context 5 2.1 State Legislation and Policies 5 2.2 Commonwealth Legislation 10 3. Methods 13 3.1 Tasks 13 3.2 Consultation with EPA 14 3.3 Database Searches and Literature Review 15 3.4 Field Surveys 15 3.5 Determination of Biodiversity Offset 22 3.6 Weather Conditions 23 3.7 Limitations 24 4. Biogeographical and Land Use Context 27 4.1 Bioregion and Catchment 27 4.2 Landscapes and Connectivity 27 4.3 Natural Features 28 4.4 Climate 41 4.5 Developed Features 41 5. Survey Results 42 5.1 Vegetation Cover and Floristics 42 5.2 Fauna Habitats 46 5.3 Fauna of the Site 48 5.4 Threatened Biota 51 6. Impact Analysis 64 6.1 Existing Conditions 64 22/15280/30/94697 R0 Tomago Aluminium Rod and Conductor Manufacturing Facility Flora and Fauna Impact Assessment 6.2 Construction Impacts 64 6.3 Operational Impacts 66 6.4 Key Threatening Processes 68 6.5 Port Stephens CKPoM 71 7. Impact Management 73 7.1 Overview 73 7.2 Impact Avoidance 73 7.3 Impact Mitigation 74 7.4 Benefits of Avoidance and Mitigation 77 7.5 Biodiversity Offset Strategy 78 8. Conclusions 80 8.1 Impacts on State-listed Threatened Biota 80 8.2 Koala Habitat 81 8.3 SEPP 14 Wetlands 83 8.4 EPBC Act Assessment 83 8.5 Summary of Key Findings 85 8.6 Draft Statement of Comittments 88 9. References 90 Table Index Table 2-1 Flora and Fauna Director General’s Requirements for the Environmental Assessment 5 Table 2-2 Biodiversity / Ecology Submission for the Environmental Assessment 6 Table 3-1 Field Survey Dates and Key Tasks 16 Table 3-2 Flora Survey Effort 16 Table 3-3 Fauna Survey Methods and Effort 21 Table 3-4 BOM Weather Records for Williamtown 23 Table 4-1 Threatened Flora Species Known or Predicted to Occur in the Locality 34 Table 4-2 Threatened Fauna Species Known or Predicted to Occur in the Locality 36 Table 5-1 Results of the Habitat Characterisation Survey 57 Table B-1 Threatened Biota Known or Predicted from the Locality, Habitat Association and Likelihood of Occurring at the Site 100 Tomago Aluminium Rod and Conductor Manufacturing Facility 22/15280/30/94697 R0 Flora and Fauna Impact Assessment Table B-2 Threatened Biota that are unlikely to be impacted by the Project 137 Figure Index Figure 1-1 The Site and Study Area 3 Figure 1-2 The Site and 10 km Buffer 4 Figure 3-1 Flora Survey Locations 25 Figure 3-2 Fauna Survey Locations 26 Figure 4-1 Groundwater Regime of the Site and Surrounding Area 30 Figure 4-2 Threatened Flora of the Locality 39 Figure 4-3 Threatened Fauna of the Locality 40 Figure 5-1 Vegetation Cover of the Site 43 Figure 5-2 Vegetation Condition of the Site 45 Figure 5-3 Hollow Bearing Trees of the Site 49 Figure 5-4 New Holland Mouse Records and Predicted Biomass 63 Figure 6-1 Direct Impacts on Vegetation Cover 69 Figure 6-2 Groundwater Impacts 70 Appendices A Protected Matters Search Tool Database Search B Threatened Biota C Flora Species Recorded within the Site D Actions Required in Relation to Notifiable Weeds Pursuant to the Noxious Weeds Act 2003 E Fauna Species Recorded within the Site F Assessment of Impact on State Listed Threatened Species and Ecological Communities G Assessment of Impact on Nationally-Listed Species and Ecological Communities 22/15280/30/94697 R0 Tomago Aluminium Rod and Conductor Manufacturing Facility Flora and Fauna Impact Assessment Abbreviations Term Definition BAT BioBanking Assessment Tool CEEC Critically endangered ecological community DECC Former Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW) now Office of Environment and Heritage (EPA) DECCW Former Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (NSW) now Office of Environment and Heritage (EPA) DEWHA Former Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Commonwealth) now Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC) DSEWPaC Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Populations and Communities (Commonwealth) formerly Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts DNR Former Department of Natural Resources (NSW), now part of the NSW Department of Water and Energy (DWE) DPI Former Department of Industry and Investment (NSW) now Department of Primary Industries (NSW) EEC Endangered ecological community EP Endangered population EP&A Act NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 EPBC Act Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 FM Act NSW Fisheries Management Act 1994 Midal Midal Cables International Pty Ltd, the Proponent NPWS Former National Parks and Wildlife Service now Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW New South Wales SEPP State Environmental Planning Policy The Project The Midal Aluminium Cabling Facility TSC Act NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 22/15280/30/94697 R0 Tomago Aluminium Rod and Conductor Manufacturing Facility i Flora and Fauna Impact Assessment Executive Summary The Project Midal Cables International Pty Ltd (Midal) propose to construct and operate the Tomago Aluminium Rod and Conductor Manufacturing Facility (referred to as the ‘Project’) on Lots 5 and 6 in DP 270328 located adjacent to the southeastern margin of the Tomago Aluminium Smelter at Tomago in Port Stephens. The Project would involve the construction and operation of a haul road to transport molten aluminium from the Tomago Smelter to a facility comprising a building tol house, the gas fired furnace and rolling mill that would manufacture aluminium rod. Ancillary infrastructure such as the gas fired furnace and rolling mill control rooms, and undercover rod storage would also be within this building. Other aspects of the Project include: Cooling towers and infrastructure associated with the gas fired furnace and rolling mill. A building approximately 124 m by 46 m and 8 m high that would house wire drawing machines, stranding machines and associated facilities. Laboratories and administration buildings. Stores building, electrical and mechanical workshops. Hardstand movement, loading areas, and car parking. Stormwater detention and nutrient control devices that would form part of a water recycling system that would maximise water reuse in the manufacturing process. On site sewage treatment plant. All required utility upgrades and connections. Purpose of Report This Flora and Fauna Impact Assessment (the Assessment) has been prepared to characterise the existing biodiversity values of the site and assess the impacts of the proposed Project within the context of Part 3A of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act). Impacts and measures required to address the adverse effects of the Project (if any) on the sites biodiversity values are discussed. Legislative Framework Specific consideration has been given to the Department of Plannings’ Director Generals Requirements (DGRs) issued under Part 3A of the EP&A Act for the Project, and the Project requirements of the Office of Environment and Heritage (EPA) and Port Stephens Council. The primary focus of the assessment is on threatened biota listed under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act) and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).